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Beyond EPIC 4: Sep 2-5, 2011, The Ozarks

And it is raining. From the forecast, I found they are expecting more Monday. But we need an update from Hood Ornament. I think there's going to be some great creek crossings. Hint: Bring Camera. Sam

Mostly just short sprinkles, not really rain. In all honesty, rain would be nice. Would really cut down on the dust! Looks like after tomorrow there's really not much chance of rain through the 2nd. Better bring extra air filters! :lol2::lol2:
 
WOW ! Great trail guide . Read it cover to cover w/ my finger following every road . It's making my crazy to have to wait another week for this.
Thanks Richard . I might have to bring the Vstrom too.
We are lucky to have Richard and to be part of the group that gets to ride that area.
Might have to stay an extra day . What do you think JT ?
 
WOW ! Great trail guide . Read it cover to cover w/ my finger following every road . It's making my crazy to have to wait another week for this.
Thanks Richard . I might have to bring the Vstrom too.
We are lucky to have Richard and to be part of the group that gets to ride that area.
Might have to stay an extra day . What do you think JT ?

Sure, I'm never in a hurry to go back to work. :trust:
 
I've stayed there before and have no complaints. It's $10 a night for tent camping if I remember right with a few dollars extra for electricity. They've got real restrooms and showers.

I googled this to try and find a number for this. This place would be great to take a shower at. First number was 479-968-5008 and the army core of engineers answered and they gave me this number 479-754-6438 but no one answered.

If I don't get ahold of them I really don't care because my plan is just to wing it anyway. All I know is I'm working out all the details right now to make this trip happen. I'm going to ride there and back on my bike from Texas. While I'm there I'm gonna ride some sweet trails, breathe in some fresh mountain air and hang out with some great new people. Other than that I have no idea what I'm going to eat or where I'm going to sleep. I'm okay with that because it's what I want to do. Makes everything a bit more interesting. Sleeping in the National Forest sounds good, too.
 
If I don't get ahold of them I really don't care because my plan is just to wing it anyway. All I know is I'm working out all the details right now to make this trip happen. I'm going to ride there and back on my bike from Texas. While I'm there I'm gonna ride some sweet trails, breathe in some fresh mountain air and hang out with some great new people. Other than that I have no idea what I'm going to eat or where I'm going to sleep. I'm okay with that because it's what I want to do. Makes everything a bit more interesting. Sleeping in the National Forest sounds good, too.

You Sir, are what Adventure riding is all about! :hail: Thank You for being part of this group. Look forward to riding with you. Sam
 
Special Bonus Ride: The John Murphy Special

Okay, Riders, I've got great news. John "El Matador" Murphy has volunteered to lead a ride on Saturday along a route that has been specially designed for this important and momentous occasion, aka The John Murphy Special.

This route consists of class 1 and 2 roads only, making it beginner and big bike friendly.

John will be at the riders meeting on Saturday morning to answer any questions and get the ride organized.

Yeah, well, thank you, TrailBoss. for the Awesome Intro! I have not done any bull-fighting since that TAR Event in Junction, 2009. That turned out almost as bad as the 1972 Helsinki incident (and I think we all know how that turned out!).

My preferred TWT sport is actually motocross. But, after the Junction Ride, I parked my KLR in the garage…. And, over the years, the battery died. For a long time, I kept trying to charge it, but it wouldn’t start. So, about 2 months ago, I finally bought a new one.

So, I went on a ride a few weeks ago, my first DS ride in 2 years! : ) I rode 4 miles. All pavement, too. Stopped at a friend’s house for water (Woodbutcher). When I knocked on his door, he looked a little confused. (I did not bring a camelback. Or extra tubes, even). After resting in the AC, and drinking copious water, I rode back home. All on the same day. That was mini-Epic.

Then, about a month ago, I did another ride. It was about 20 miles, round trip. Man it was hot. I missed my AC, but I made it back safely. Put the bike back in the garage.

So, a little about me: I own a KLR with an ‘undone’ doohickey. Been meaning to do the do, but never did not get around to it, yet. (I’m not sure what the "do" really is, but it sounds painful…something you know you should do…kinda like a colonoscopy, I think.).

By the way, I do own a GPS unit - but it’s in my car. I don’t plug it in much. I don’t know if its glove friendly or not. But that’s ok; I don’t wear gloves in my car. I can read a map. They were invented a long time ago. They still work...but prob not for anyone under 25.

I don’t even own crash bars or a skid plate. I really don’t like to crash or skid. I don’t wear a camelback. I don’t’ like to drink and drive. I do like to stop and buy an iced tea now and then.

I’ve never owned a GPX file. Not sure what that is, or where I’d file it, if I had one. I have a stock seat too. I like to rough it.

I don’t ride to work. Many guys do, and I have Huge Respect for them. But, I prefer to ride in my truck, drink coffee, and listen to talk radio, eat, and talk on the phone. And, I like the AC. And I work too much.

I’ve never been on a Pie Run. I’d really like to one day. I’ve heard a lot about them, and, I do like pies. Who doesn’t? It’s just not American to not like pies. And I like people, too. But, I don’t like to run. Especially in this heat.

So, Pie-Run? Kind of an oxymoron. It's like 'Military Intelligence'?
So, my bike mainly sits in the garage. Yeah, I know, that’s bad. I have a debilitating guilt complex.

I am a member of the AMA. I think. I still I still get their magazine. I read about riding more than I ride.

I am not really a newbie. I was born when JFK was president. That’s what I was told. My bike is the newbie. It has only 2200 miles on it! It does not show it. A lot of those miles are probably moving it around my garage, to make room for the other 5 bikes that are stored in there. I have a lot more mileage on me. And I show it, too.

ANYWAY,why am I here? Well, I wanted to help The TrailBoss in some way, with this Epic Event. “But how? “, I asked myself a thousand times!. He has put a LOT of time (and his own $) and effort into planning these events.

He has been to Arkansas to pre-ride the place a lot of times! So, I thought I’d offer to lift some of the ‘Epic’ burden of Epic DS AR ride and offer to lead a group on some easy roads on Saturday.

And, that’s what I did. I offered. And he posted. I did not even get a chance to negotiate the compensation (maybe a cup of coffee?)

So, it’s going down! And, all are welcome on this ride on Sat.

Like many of you, I have the maps from The TrailBoss – (and like many of you, they are on my desk, and I have not read them yet. I’ll do it soon – I promise).

I read the RideGuide, and man, it made me feel guilty, compounding my guilt complex! I have a lot of work to do, to get ready for this event.

So, on Sat, we will have a very easy ride: Class 1 and 2 roads. Easy stuff.
We’ll stop for smoke/ gas/ potty breaks, and to find lost riders, if needed. And we’ll stop for pics. And, stop for lunch. And maybe coffee, too.

But, I have a few rules: We will not lay the bike down, skid, or crash (if you do, you go to the end of the line!). We will practice a no man (or woman) left behind policy. We will not get air (at least on purpose).

We will have a ‘sweep rider’ (the designated last rider), so we don’t lose anyone. We will try to avoid roads occupied by dangerous animals - wild or domesticated! We won’t be in a big hurry. And we will have a Great Time!

I’m going up Thurs with trailrider77. On Friday, we’ll pre-ride this Class 1/2 route. Anyone coming up Thurs, is welcome to do this pre-ride on Friday, if you don’t’ mind a Class 1/2 route (i.e. That means, really easy dirt roads) . Even if you have a non-glove friendly GPS, bring it. I may just follow you : )

I have never been to Arkansas - on a DS. So, this will be new to me to.
On Friday we can break the rules (a little?) test the crash bars, test out the skid plates, get lost, dodge rampant ATV’s, break some levers,…slide the bikes! Approach the speed limit! Just be good old Arkansas hooligans!! (j/k Trailboss!). For the Sat ride, we’ll revert to a more placid pace.

And if you come on Friday, you don’t have to repeat on the Colossal Epic Sat Class 1, Class 2 Event Ride - unless you have so much fun, you want to!

I like to poke a little fun at myself, a little……So, if my description of myself sounds like you, you are welcome to join us Saturday on this ride.

Or, if my description of myself does NOT sound like you, you are still welcome. If you want to go faster, just wait for us up ahead! : )

If you are a beginner, or “re-beginner” you are welcome! If you are an advanced and experienced rider, you are still welcome!! You may just want to start your Epic Event on a easy Class 1 or 2 road, and, you are more than welcome.

Then, maybe, we’ll all earn the coveted “TrailBoss Class 3” trail certification (yeah…I just made that up).

Some of you above, said you’d be coming up a day early, to ride Friday. So Friday. For those of you coming up early: we’ll have a somewhat organized “pre-ride” of this Class 1/Class 2 route.

We’ll meet Friday 8:00 am in the parking lot of Ride HQ, at Day's Inn, at 2600 W Main Street.

And, we’ll leave, Kick Stands Up (KSU), and gas tanks full!, at 8:30 am.
So, I’m really excited about this! For those coming early on Friday, join us Friday if you want to.

And, for those who are starting the Epic Ride on Sat, and want an easy route, you are welcome to join us Saturday. Same time and place on Sat: 8:00 am in the parking lot of Ride HQ, at Day's Inn. We’ll leave, KSU, gas tanks full, at 8:30 am.

I hope to see some many of you Saturday!

Thanks again to Richard for all your hard work, to make this happen, an awesome Ride Guide, and a FUN event!!:rider:
 
I'm gonna piggyback off what John said.

I too am headed up to AR on Thursday so I can get in an extra day of riding on Friday. For all the riders who are doing likewise, there will be an quick riders meeting at 8 am Friday morning in the parking lot of the Day's Inn. The purpose will be to give any riders who need it an opportunity to find a group to ride with. John will be there to organize his group. I'll be there to organize my group. And so on.

See you fellas there.
 
Okay, I know I should keep quiet about this but... :ponder: I knew John (Racer John) back in the day, let's just say the late '80's. I think the first time we met was at a Harescrambles; Shirley and I were working sign up. Here comes John; he signs up, and is riding an early '70's Yamaha DT1. Yeah, that's right, I'm thinking, don't get on that thing 'till the ambulance crew gets here! :lol2: John leaves the start with his group, I can't remember what class he was riding, but what did it matter, we didn't have a class for 20 year old bikes with 3.5 inches of suspension! :flip: Heck John, you were 10 years old when that bike was made! :clap: Anyway, back to the story. We could see the start; John was not the first off the line, nor the second if I remember, but he did make up some ground. In the field where sign up was, we could look directly across and see the competitors as they came up near the parking area about 1/2 a lap into their race. I think John had that DT1 in third, maybe second place! We could not believe it! As they went back into the trees, Shirley and I were amazed and wondered, "who is this guy?" Well, about 10 minutes later, here comes John walking up to us. "What happened to your bike", I asked. Well, it had broken a throttle cable not long after the trail dropped back into the trees. I should think so, you must have had it twisted 1 1/2 times it's length! I felt sorry for him, so I loaned him my XR250 I had there that day and let him finish the race. He wouldn't get points or a place, but at least he could finish his ride.

Don't let his "description of himself" lead you wrong. John and I rode together many times after that. He is a very talented and natural rider. He would lead you to think he has gotten old & slow; my advice to you is don't test it, even though I have not seen him in 20 years. Sorry John, this comes under the heading of "discloser". :deal: :trust:

John is a genuine person and all around great guy. 8-) I look forward to seeing him again.

Sam
 
Hey, John - Shirley here - I was just wondering if you still have that DT since you mentioned having multiple bikes in your garage???? I wish I had gotten a picture of it so I could sell it to Cracker Barrel, 'cause they like antiques! :lol2: Seriously, though, you made that bike fly!

I have to tell another story - back in May of 1990, Sam and John teamed up in a Tag Team Hare Scrambles. By now, John had gotten another bike - a Honda CR 250. Sam was riding an XR 250. I was manning the "pit" for them, which meant keeping the tailgate down and a bottle of water open. :thumb: (Our pit consisted of the pickup parked in the shade.) :dude:

Right off the bat, these guys set a blazing pace no one could follow. They were turning lap times of just under 30 minutes, and I was certain they were going to burn themselves out. :eek: Never happened - both guys were almost exact in their times, and seemed to get stronger as the race wore on. :loco: I was not believing what I was seeing, and I'm pretty sure the crew working the race were wondering if they were cutting the course! :flip: :rofl: Other spectators began to watch and comment on these guy's speed.

They continued that lightening pace throughout the race, and not surprisingly, came in first place! :rider:

Those were the days - here they are looking all relaxed. (I'm pretty sure this was taken prior to the race!)

Sam_John_Hare_Scrambles_TWT.jpg


(Sorry guys, I know this doesn't have anything to do with the Epic Ride, but these are the facts. I'm just sayin'.)

It'll be great to see you again, John! We are looking forward to this trip!

Shirley
 
Weird; Sam looks the same. Maybe we should all race bikes .....secret to staying young.
 
Sam & Shirley: Thanks for the stories. I recall the Tag Team race with Sam pretty well. The race that Sam described about me? I only recall bits and pieces. I dont even recall where that race was. I look forward to seeing you both in AR. Maybe you can refresh my memory...

>>>>>>
On another note, this week I kinda cheated on the farkeling. This week, 2 days apart, I sold my stock 08, and bought a 07 KLR with mods and only 7K miles from John Sherman (DAYTRADER here on TWT). John owned 2 KLR's and a GS; so he just decided to thin the heard, and sell one.

John is kinda new to TX. He's originally from Chicago and recently lived in Maine before moving to TX this summer. Texas is warmer than Maine, in both the summer and the winter. I tried to get him to join us on the AR ride and he almost did. Maybe next time. Welcome to TX John Sherman.

The 07 KLR has things like crash bars. I can now crash with confidence. It has an external temp gauge, so I can tell when I'm hot. The doo is done. Now I call it the ‘did’. It has side bags and other things too. I cant remember what they are. I have not ridden it yet.

I pick it up from his home in S Austin later today. Now if I read the part of Rich's Ride Guide (if I can remember where I put it) about getting prepared, I wont feel so guilty. I hope.
 
Ah, youth! That must explain it - and Sam will RACE for pie - I guess that's why he loves the pie runs! :rider: :eat: :eat3:

(Uh, there IS pie in Arkansas, right?) :ponder: :giveup:
 
Yes there is pie in Arkansas!! Just ride up to Oark to the store, there inside you will find wonderful home made sweetness to die for. Last year I had the coconut cream for breakfast!! :eat::hail:
 
OK, that's it, I have been reading the ride guide, trying to figure where our first ride on Friday is going to be. Last one to Oark buys! :eat: Or if you get to Oark and there is 50 bikes out front, I suggest you keep riding.

Oh, and John, a pie run is not running to pie. It's when you get there first and I find out you ate my pie. :drool: :duck:
Pie, Pie, oh wonderful Pie. Sam
P.S. I just realized I have a problem. :help: I am riding to another state to get Pie. :eat3:
 
I read the ride guide,(great job Richard, nice printing job too Jerry), looked at all the fun routes that are waiting, put new chain and sprockets on the KLR,(she turned 15,000 miles young today), will do oil change and air filter clean up tomorrow just because, putting new rubber on Daly's bike on Monday, washing the truck because I want to, counting the days until fun begins, praying for cooler temps and safety for all "Epic" bound TWT'rs. Life is good, but God is better.:sun:
 
Re: RIDING UP from HOUSTON THURSDAY

I'm leaving Houston THursday and riding up - anyone want to join up? Expect to maintain an ~ 80 mph pace....

Neil
 
Clarksville forecast:

friday 90 and chance of thunderstorms
sat 88 and chance of thunderstorms
sun 88 and chance of thunderstorms

yes please. :rider::eat::rider:
 
COOL COOL RAIN! RAIN ON ME. FOR THE CREEK IS WIDE AND IT IS DEEP, BUT GREAT RICHES LAY ON THE OTHER SIDE! :flip: Coconut Cream Riches. :lol2: Just follow Big A. He has the secret pirate map to pie. :pirate:
Shirley said "88 deg., I will have to bring a parka!"
Sam
 
COOL COOL RAIN! RAIN ON ME. FOR THE CREEK IS WIDE AND IT IS DEEP, BUT GREAT RICHES LAY ON THE OTHER SIDE! :flip: Coconut Cream Riches. :lol2: Just follow Big A. He has the secret pirate map to pie. :pirate:
Shirley said "88 deg., I will have to bring a parka!"
Sam

You go ahead and bring the parka...........I'm bringing two lawn chairs and Jim's bringing me a couple of C gars. Oh yeah,and i'm also bringing the secret weapon!
 
Jim needs a roomie.........Jim Griftner,formerly of Griff's Cycle in Lewisville just informed me that he needs a room mate/gas sharing partner for this ride. Jim says he can leave either Thursday or Friday. If anyone is interested call Jim at 214-762-5801

I can vouch for Jim, he’s a really good guy to hang with and he’s dang good with a GPS,so someone give him a call.
 
I bought John's old Yamaha 400 at a garage sale for 80 bucks years ago and gave it to a kid in the neighborhood after my brother-in-law left it outside for a few years, the kid got it running and rode it daily until some crook stole it out of his garage..........:zen:
 
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